<span style="color: #222222;">Holi, also known as the festival of colours, was celebrated with great fervour across the country today. The festival signifies the victory of good over evil and the arrival of spring.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">People across the country smeared each other with colours, exchanged greetings and savoured sweets on the occasion. Revellers hit the streets, dancing to popular songs and beat of drums as children ran with sprinklers and water balloons to celebrate the festival.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">In Punjab and Haryana, colours of all hues and the smell of gulal pervaded streets as people of all ages celebrated Holi. </span><span style="color: black;">In Uttar Pradesh, celebrations began early this morning at temples in Mathura, the birth place of Lord Krishna, and Vrindavan where people chanted bhajans. </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"><br />'' In West Bengal, thousands of people took part in Basanta Utsav at Santiniketan. Large number of devotees also gathered at temples across the state on the occasion.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Reports of </span><span style="color: black;">Holi festivities were also received from abroad. In Sri Lanka, several programmes were organised in capital Colombo and other parts of the country. This year, the lead was taken by Indian cultural center under the High Commission of India to organise programmes and make people celebrate Holi in a grand fashion.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">In Nepal, the festival was celebrated in Kathmandu valley and several hilly districts yesterday. Holi is also known as Fagu Purnima in the country. The festival is being celebrated today in Terai region.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the people on the occasion.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">In his message, President Kovind said, the festival is a celebration of spring and sense of fraternity and mutual goodwill. He expressed hope that the confluence of colours will bring positive energy to all.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Vice President Naidu said, it is a festival that expresses joy, camaraderie and conviviality.<br />'' <br />'' </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">In a tweet, Mr Modi expressed hope that the festival of joy will deepen the color of unity and harmony.</span><br />''